It is very hard to find an advocate that knows what they are doing. I have spent time and money on advocates that never produced 1/10th of what I received in such a short time frame from ACE. For proper advice, the best advise for drafting IEP Goals, and the best documentation for parents concerns to be attached to your IEP, the staff at ACE are the best I have ever experienced.
C.E. Orange County, California
I had such peace of mind knowing that I had an experienced advocate, Linda Simpson, who really knew the ins and outs of the system. Linda was responsive to my every question as we worked together during the weeks prior to the IEP meeting. I was able to walk into our IEP meeting with a feeling of confidence that I had a knowledgeable person by my side. I am satisfied with the outcome of our IEP meeting, and I would certainly contact ACE again should I need advocacy services in the future.
Jill L. Corona, California
For as long as I can remember, I have had to fight for my son’s basic right to receive a formal education. To become a resourceful human being in our society was becoming almost a lost venture. My son Isaiah is a bright and loving child that was touched by a disability that stands out in our society. Society considered him a bit strange, very hyper and immature. He has been diagnosed with ADD, then Aspergers Syndrome and now PDD-NOS, an autism spectrum disorder. Beginning in pre-school, Isaiah was removed from 5 different schools because the schools could not accommodate my sons “Active, inquisitive and talkative behavior”. This continued into first through 10th grade. I took Isaiah after 1st grade to a mental health doctor that had diagnosed Isaiah with ADD. Was this great news? Yes, because now I had a foundation to work with and doctors to help Isaiah throughout his years in school. Unfortunately, I found out that others do not care for your child as you do. I have had to fight for my son’s education for as long as I can remember. After numerous encounters with the teachers and schools – This one situation was the last straw. Isaiah said “Good Morning” to many times to another classmate. The other child proceeded to beat Isaiah up until a teacher took the other child off Isaiah. To make matters worse, my son was suspended for 3 days and the other child for less. Reason: Isaiah provoked the fight. They didn’t understand after all the IEP’s that this was a manifestation of his disability – to not understand body language therefore not understanding to stop saying good morning to the child. When Isaiah came back to school he was separated from his classmates to eat alone while the other child ate with classmates and just talk about my son. So even after being beat up, suspended, isolated, he still had kids taunting and making him feel so bad. As a mother I was ready to come down on everyone. After lots of prayers, I searched the internet for advocates and ran across ACE. I consider my two advocates “Angels with Armor”. Brenda and Linda changed the course of my sons life and education and gave me hope that there are people out there that will fight for you and that know the system and the laws to help you. Brenda and Linda asked for every piece of documentation on Isaiah since first grade, every doctor’s diagnosis, IEP, and teacher’s emails. I fedx everything to them and waited for results. Wow, did I get results. ACE got my son the technology and software that he needed to participate in class and prove that he was a smart young man that needed the tools to prove it. They got him into the LA Diagnostic Center to re-evaluate Isaiah and help the teachers understand Isaiah and give them the guidance they needed to educate my son. The Diagnostic Center diagnosed Isaiah with PDD-NOS and now they have helped him in his new school and we have managed to get all the right teachers that truly care about Isaiah. They actually like my son and look forward to working with him. Isaiah didn’t ask to be born with this handicap, but we embrace it now and work with him every step of the way. Now my son has caring teachers, a district that is now on their toes and a great school. Isaiah now rides his bike to school and has a new sense of responsibility. He is above all HAPPY and it shows. He has become so productive and my heart goes out to the personal care ACE has given my child. If you have come to a point of frustration and know that someone out there has got to help you, then I strongly recommend ACE to give you the support, guidance and above all RESULTS. My Angels in Armor for ever – Brenda and Linda |
Monica- Riverside County, California
At the age of 3, our son was diagnosed with receptive and expressive speech problems. Age 6 brought his tri-annual IEP and he was labeled ADD. He had been receiving speech services and now counseling was added for anxiety,yet we were footing the bill for tutoring in reading and writing. Sure, the school offered summer school but it wasn’t specialized to meet his unique needs. At the following two IEP meetings we expressed our concerns that our son was struggling with grade level homework. The school’s team’s response was he was fine at school and in fact they were ready to drop his services! WHAT? Did they not see he couldn’t read and follow textbook directions? Had they not noticed it took him a very long time to recall and/or organize information? They couldn’t be missing his panic, anxiety attacks could they? The next two IEP meetings became condescending-blame the parent sessions. We had had enough! By luck, I ran into an old friend who mentioned TASK as a resource. The people at TASK listened to our son’s situation and suggested that we contact an advocate. After web searching and phone calls we decided to use ACE as Brenda Rogers really had the passion for special kids and the compassion for the frustrated parents who were also lost in the system. At the time, Brenda was too busy to take our case for our upcoming IEP date. So we were placed us in the fantastic hands of Lori Boehm. Lori is amazing! She went thoroughly through all of our paperwork and guided us through requesting copies of items we weren’t given. When we met with her before the IEP meeting she not only had a strong feeling for what our son’s true areas of needs were but also what the district needed to provide for him. She also educated us on our son’s educational rights dictated by the law. Since our son’s district failed to properly handle his case Brenda made time in her schedule to help us with the legal areas. Brenda, on our behalf, filed a letter of complaint to the district of all the areas they were not following the Special Education law. Her letter was so thorough that the district could not refute it and they knew that we now were aware of our son’s rights. So there we arrived at our son’s tri-annual with advocate Lori to support us in getting our son’s educational needs met and Brenda who was there to make sure things were handled correctly and accordingly to the educational laws. Then to top it off, a third advocate came, Linda Simpson, who lent her support in obtaining the right testing and services for our son. She had had previous experience with this same district and their avoidance of providing appropriate services. The district’s Director of Special Services knew that they were on notice and that if more misleading tactics or falsifications occurred that it would lead to legal action at the state level. That IEP meeting was a break through, it was handled in a professional manner-no yelling or blaming and best of all appropriate testing was provided which resulted in our son qualifying for speech, RSP, OT and VT services!!!! A huge difference from the last IEPs when they were saying he was “fine” and were ready to drop what services he was getting!!!! Best of all, the services are being paid for appropriately through school funding, the way the law intends. All children are to have equal access to education and our son needs additional assistance in order for him to gain that access. The schools are the responsibly party to provide them and so they shall for our son and should for every child with unique needs. Additional to our son now receiving the support he needs, we as parents have become educated in our child’s rights. Linda and Brenda make sure the parents understand and educate themselves in order to help their child as well. These ladies have a passion, wealth of knowledge, experience and such professionalism that is remarkable. We have recommended ACE to other parents of special kids and have had the pleasure of seeing those children also receive what they rightly deserve. So if your child is struggling or has anxiety, frustration or self doubt and really “hates” school. Call ACE. If you as a parent are frustrated from getting the run around when asking for help, please call ACE. They will change your child’s educational experience which will affect them for the rest of their life! ACE will support and educate you as a parent so you will feel empowered to help your child. Brenda Rogers along with all of her staff are there to help and make everyone in your family go from SAD-TO-GLAD! |
Parents, Orange County, California
Dear Parents: For more than three years, on behalf of our 10-year-old daughter, my wife and I have been struggling with our school district. For these three years, it has been a frustrating tug-of-war. During these three years, we have had to educate ourselves. We learned much by chance from other parents who have had children with learning disabilities and themselves have had to go up against the state school system, when ethically, the school, the child and parents should have been at IEP team meetings as one team, acting in what is in the best interests of a challenged child. We had to find our own tutoring and with the help of a private psychologist and were fortunate to find our first IEP representative, who opened our eyes to the truth, realities and inequities of this state system, who claims to let no one child be left behind. That is their lie. We lost our first IEP representative after one year and early in 2005, we learned of Brenda Rogers from a family friend. She first provided us with an able and reliable tutor for our daughter. Then, within the past two months, when it came time to draw a line in the sand, we sat back with some amazement at two consecutive IEP meetings, and let Brenda work her magic. By the second of these meetings, two district members attended with pencils sharpened, sitting at attention. We listened as Brenda fine-tuned the input of each school district member, cutting through their disingenuous representations, because she knew more than they, as she has made it her quest, to educated herself in this area. Because of her, our child has received testing that will lead to therapy that will really help. It will be hard and costly, but the school district will pay for it, as they are on notice by our IEP representative, Brenda, that any more of their misleading tactics will lead to legal action. Remember, anything you do for your child will never be lost. If your child shows any indication of having difficulty in learning or comprehension, or if you suspect that your child may have an attention deficit, all the laws governing education in this state are on the parent’s side and the school teachers and administrators know this. We hope you do not have the same sad journey that we did with our daughter, watching her struggle, grow in frustration and self-doubt, be told she should be held back and feel that as parents, we had failed somehow and then rely on medications for our daughter. If your school is not willing to spend your tax dollars for your child’s welfare and best interests, save your child the precious time of their developing years and the absolute heartache you will experience at the hands of your school district’s inactions. Come to know and rely upon a specialist in this field in the person of Brenda Rogers. |
Teja& Teresa Geldmacher, Laguna Hills, California
Outstanding. The word best describes the actions taken by Brenda Rogers through her ACE organization. Brenda brings with her extensive knowledge as an advocate first for her own son and long history of experience advocating for parents throughout Southern California. With her expertise in the process, Brenda is able to prepare parents for the journey and battles in store for those willing fight the system to get a better outcome for their child. Brenda understands the “end-game” and will provide an empathetic ear with great coaching and encouragement along the way.
Keith and Ramona McLaughlin, Orange County, California
Dear Brenda, Thank you so much for all your help. We would have never gotten this far without you and everything you’ve done for us. It was allot of work, but once I got that call that we had won and after I ran around the house calling everyone, I just sat down and burst into tears because at last all this hard work had made everything worth it. He is finally not sitting in the back corner of the class, ignored and taunted by the teacher and punished by not being allowed to play because he is unable to do the work. Instead he’s actually learning and playing with the other kids, he’s doing class work, homework, has a few friends, and even becoming independent with taking the bus by himself. But most importantly he is happy, which is all I ever really wanted for him. There is nothing worse than seeing your child screwed over by people that could help, but are not inclined to do so. It is heart breaking to see your child suffer and have the school “specialists” keep help away from a little kid that needs it. Like I told you before, after I made a few calls to the referral numbers from TASK of different advocates and when I talked to you I loved your passion, drive and determination. You were up front saying this would be work on our parts and without your telling me “write another letter” I would have never known what to do. I worked for 7 years as a home health care pediatric nurse for terminally ill and handicap children and now with my own son having Autism I think I have allot of perspective on how hard it can be to find help when you need it the most. I would love to jump on the bandwagon with ACE over the long run! Thanks again for everything, |
L. D. Ray Orange County, California
I am very glad to have come across such a strong and dedicated advocate for a child’s special needs. My son was struggling academically because of his reactions to different situations. Brenda helped me to find hope. She was understanding to what a parent faces, the expectation upon the parents and children by the school. With her assistance, my child has received benefits that, without her, I wouldn’t have known were available and what my son was entitled to.
Her advocacy has given me hope and made life less stressful. You know when you are expected to show up and have another round table meeting with individuals who are very objective to the situation your child is facing and all they do is bash on you, it seems like they formulate a plan that goes with what their needs are. With her advocacy, I can stand up for our rights and that my advocate can make better choices for my child than the school that looks out for its own interests. We are not alone in this journey now.
Thank you for all you knowledge on this matter,
Ana Laura, Orange County, California
Brenda has assisted me in obtaining the most beneficial special education services for my daughter through her non-profit advocacy services. She is very knowledgeable of the special education process, and she is dedicated to assisting others in the pursuit of fairness within the bureaucracy of school districts. I would also like to add that her fees are extremely reasonable, and her dedication to our case was undeniable.
I believe that Brenda has a great deal of commitment toward effecting change. This was evident in her tenacity in my daughter’s case. She has been invaluable to us. She is very resourceful and she is always looking for ways to achieve the best for her clients.
I am grateful to know Brenda and to have had the privilege and benefit of her knowledge and advocacy skills. I intend to use her services in the future if we need assistance achieving my daughter’s educational goals.
Alice E. Orange County, California
